FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IU Indianapolis men's track team captured a thrilling win in the distance medley relay to close out day one of the Horizon League Indoor Championships inside Lutheran Health Fieldhouse on Saturday (Mar. 1). The Jaguars quartet of underclassmen spun a winning time of 10:05.64, missing a new school record by less than a second in the process. 

The relay win accounted for the team's 10 points as the Jaguars sit fifth of eight teams heading into Sunday's competition. 

The group of Riley Nixon, Jaydon Steidinger, Joey Ashman and Luke Shappell claimed the program's first DMR win since 2020, fending off Purdue Fort Wayne by just less than a second. Shappell overtook the lead with roughly 300 meters remaining and stretched the advantage down the stretch to outpace the Mastodons and third-place Youngstown State. 

Earlier in the day, freshman Nick Cook punched a ticket to the 800m finals with a personal best time of 1:54.56, missing the school record by a half second. Jay Pillai just missed earning a spot in the finals, finishing ninth in the prelims at 1:57.11.

Mitchell Gits led the team's entries in the 5,000m event at 14:52.55, placing 12th overall and freshman Joey LaPatra was 14th at 15:03.17. Fellow rookie Sam Grimes crossed at 15:17.85. 

Events are slated to continue on Sunday (Mar. 2), beginning at 1:00 p.m.